AT&T-BellSouth merger vote delayed for third time

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday delayed for a third time a vote on whether to allow AT&T to acquire BellSouth--a postponement that's due to the commissioners' inability to agree on conditions of the deal.

The vote was scheduled for Friday during the commission's open meeting. But the agency sent a notice late Thursday removing the item from the agenda.

Before the last scheduled FCC vote on Oct. 13, the two Democratic commissioners, Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps, were outraged that the Department of Justice hadn't imposed any conditions on the merger. In an effort to win their votes, AT&T prior to the scheduled meeting.

After three weeks of public comments being submitted, it appears the commission is still deadlocked on the issue of the merger. Now, the fifth member of the commission, Republican Robert McDowell, will likely be forced to vote on the deal, several telecom experts have predicted. McDowell had recused himself from the proceedings, because prior to becoming a commissioner, he had worked for Comptel, an organization that opposes the AT&T-BellSouth merger.

Several consumer groups have criticized AT&T's proposal as not going far enough to protect competition and provide benefits to consumers. Many of the concessions AT&T proposed were simply extensions of earlier conditions put on the company from its merger with SBC. Additional concessions included a new $10 a month broadband service tier, free modems and a promise of a temporary freeze on its rates for other service providers that use its network.